The legislative session continues to fly by with budget and revenue bills being introduced in both the Senate and House this week.
The simple message for your legislators this week:
“I am a person of faith and I support a substantial revenue package to protect services for our vulnerable kids, working families, the elderly, and our environment.”
Communicating this message to your legislators is especially important if they serve on the House or Senate Ways & Means Committee. Use the links below to see the committee rosters and use the legislature’s toll-free number, 1-800-562-6000, to leave a message.
Week Six in Review
Last week was a highpoint of the legislative session for LPPO and its religious partners as InterFaith Advocacy Day, held on February 16th, drew over 200 faithful advocates to the state capitol. Our message of “Supporting Revenue to Protect Services” built upon the successfully lobby day held the day before and sponsored by the 150 organizations of the Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition. Over 3,000 people from around the state gathered to support a substantial revenue package to protect health and human services programs from a second straight year of deep cuts. Learn more about the rally at the coalition website.
Over the weekend legislators traveled back to their districts and held town hall meetings across the state. LPPO and our partners encouraged advocates to attend and speak against an all cuts approach to solving Washington’s budget problems. Jim Wiederaenders, an advocate from St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Bellevue attended his district’s town hall and was quoted in an article by the Seattle Times:
| “If we cut them [benefits] further, we’re just going to pay more for that because those people still need services and they’re going to get them more expensively,” Jim Wiederaenders, of Bellevue, said after the meeting. “Too many people look at this in their own self interest and don’t look at the common good.” “I wanted to hear them say, we will fight further cuts to education and health and human services,” he said. “They need the courage to do the right thing.” |
This is the message that legislators need to hear. Thanks Jim!
Week Seven
This is the last week for policy bills to be passed out of committee in the opposite chamber. The cut-off for the House was Tuesday and the Senate’s is on Friday at 5pm.
However, the big event this week was the release of the Senate and House versions of the budget on Tuesday. With a little over two weeks left in the legislative session the budget debate will move fast and furious as the revenue and budget bills need to be passed by their house of origin, passed by the opposite chamber, and then reconciled by legislative leadership before being presented to the governor for signature. The Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition, to which LPPO belongs, released the following statement yesterday:
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Senate and House Budget Proposals Continue in Right Direction But Additional Revenue is Needed to Prevent Devastating Cuts. Olympia—The Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition, representing more than 130 organizations concerned about proposed cuts to the state budget, issued the following statement today in response to the Senate and House budget proposals: “The budgets put forward today by the Senate and House indicate continued progress in identifying the revenue needed to avoid cuts to the core services that Washingtonians are counting on in the midst of these difficult economic times. But more is needed to protect our future as a state. “There are still some key services that are on the chopping block. Critical grants that allow community health centers to provide health care to uninsured Washingtonians would be eliminated. Voter-approved efforts to reduce class sizes in early grades and improve student achievement would be suspended. Thousands of residents with long-term care needs would lose assistance with activities of daily living and 1,400 seniors and people with disabilities would lose care entirely. Important environmental protections that keep our communities safe would not be funded. “Lawmakers in both chambers clearly understand that Washington families are struggling and need help now. These budgets build on the Governor’s revenue proposals issued last week and we applaud our Legislators for moving forward in facing these unprecedented challenges head on. “That said, the Senate’s proposal to generate $900 million in new revenue falls short of protecting funding for education, health care, human services and other core priorities vital to our long-term economic future. Taken in context with last year’s cuts only approach, this proposal would still amount to $4 in cuts for every $1 in revenue. “Work remains to be done on the specifics of a final revenue proposal and as a coalition we will be working with the Governor, House and Senate to build consensus around a final package that protects our future as a state and adequately funds services that people are depending on now.” |
Bill Update
Food Policy Council Bill (HB 6343) LPPO along with other members of the Good Food Coalition are supporting this bill to help strengthen our state’s ag economy with better coordination. Our food system in Washington State is not working well and we need to do better. Food Policy Councils (FPCs) are being established at local & state levels throughout the country to address the food system challenges. Working across the different sectors of our food system, FPCs coordinate action among the many stakeholders that can expand production, consumption and access to Washington-grown foods. Multiple benefits can ensue, including job creation, keeping food dollars and tax revenue in-state, and improved health based upon improved access to healthy food. A Food Policy Council would also position Washington State to take advantage of new federal dollars that support improved nutrition and food system integration. For more information visit The Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network’s issue page.
Status and Action: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee passed the bill out of committee yesterday. It now is before the House Rules Committee and is one step closer to getting a vote before the House. Let your House representatives know you support this legislation!
Called to Care Conference
For Advocates in Eastern Washington
You are invited to the Called to Care Conference. Sponsored by The Faith & Environment Network and organized around the theme of “Organizing for the Work of Environmental Stewardship”, the event features presentations by:
- Wim Mauldin and Jessica Anundson, Spokane Alliance & Sustainable Works
- Jessie Dye and Leanne Beres from Earth Ministry, Seattle
- Juliet Sinisterra, Local Sustainability Planner
- Jon Snyder, Spokane City Councilman
Event Details:
- March 20, 2010
- 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Holy Trinity Episcopal Church – 1832 W Dean Avenue (West Central Spokane)
Registration, which includes lunch, is $20 for individuals or $15 for individuals from groups with 3 or more attendees. For more information or to register, contact Lynda Maraby at (206) 579-1884 or faithandenvironment@gmail.com.
On February 16th, over 200 advocates from around Washington gathered at the State Capitol in Olympia for Interfaith Advocacy Day 2010. The day was a great success as people of faith worshiped together, heard from experts about policy and budget issues, were addressed by Gov. Chris Gregoire, and met with their elected representatives.
“Supporting Revenue to Protect Services” was the day’s slogan as attendees advocated for the new revenue necessary to prevent an all cuts budget. Gov. Gregoire urged the gathering help legislators put a human face on services at risk, such as the Basic Health Plan and Apple Health. A big “Thank You!” to the religious partners, organizations, and advocates who made Interfaith Advocacy Day 2010 possible.
If you attended advocacy day and were energized by the experience or could not attend and want to get involved, this Saturday, February 20th, is a great opportunity for action.
Legislators from across the state are taking time off from the session to hold town hall meetings in their home districts. This is a rare chance to influence your legislators mid-session while they are still working out the details of critical legislation, including the budget.
We need every member of the legislature to hear loud and clear that our communities can’t afford deeper cuts to education, health care, and the environment. Will you join friends and neighbors at a local town hall on Saturday?
Yes, show me where my local town hall is!
Over the next four weeks, our elected officials in Olympia will face tough decisions about how to close the state’s budget deficit. After billions in cuts last year, another all cuts budget would devastate our communities and hamper our recovery from this historic recession. We need our legislators to return to Olympia with one clear message in mind: we can’t cut our way out of this deficit.
Rep. Ross Hunter and others have already introduced bills that would save the state hundreds of millions of dollars by closing unfair tax loopholes and exemptions. During these challenging times, we believe it makes more sense to end a $33 million sales tax exemption for out of state shoppers than cut $33 million from education. However, we need your help to get the word out to members of the legislature when they are home on February 20.
Will you join friends and neighbors at a local town hall on Saturday?
Please click on the link below to find your local town hall
http://fusewashington.org/page/event/search_simple
At the height of the legislative session, your elected leaders are looking for ideas and stories from constituents to take back to Olympia. Help us tell them that we can’t afford anymore cuts!
Town Hall Resources:
Town Hall Talking Points from the Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition (pdf)
One of the final first round cut-offs occur today, with the last opportunity for fiscal bills to pass out of their original committees, Finance in the House and Ways and Means in the Senate. This week’s alert features several bills that need to survive this cut-off – calls are needed today
Action Bills for Week Five
House Revenue Bill (HB 3176) – This bill would raise approximately $325 m/year to preserve state services by raising revenue from a number of sources including closing tax loopholes and narrowing or eliminating certain tax preferences.
Status and Action: The bill is currently before the House Finance Committee. If your legislator serves on this committee (member list) please give them a call and urge them to vote yes on HB 3176.
SB 6648, is an act protecting and assisting consumers and homeowners from unfair lending practices and during foreclosure proceedings. If a person’s house is in process of being foreclosed, this bill would require mandatory mediation between the homeowner and the financial lender and require a good faith review by the lender, as well as offering loan modification whenever eligible. This is important legislation that will help families struggling to stay in their homes.
Status and Action: This legislation needs to be passed out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee (member list). Contact your senator, especially if they serve on Ways and Means, and urge them to support this bill requiring lenders to work with homeowners to avoid foreclosure
HB 3181, The Clean Water Act of 2010, funds cleanup of water pollution and other programs necessary for the health and well-being of Washington citizens through an increase in the hazardous substance tax. By increasing the existing tax on Hazardous Substances (levied on petroleum and other toxic chemicals), the state can raise $450 million per biennium to fund job-creating clean water projects in every district and temporarily provide much needed dollars for the General Fund.
Status and Action: The bill is before the House Capital Budget Committee (member list). Give your representatives a call and let them know you support this measure, especially if they serve on the House Capital Budget Committee.
Week Five Preview
The busy portion of the legislative session truly begins with the fifth week of session. Daily floor action commences for both chambers on Wednesday the 10th, following the fiscal committee cut-offs on the ninth.
Three major allies of LPPO have their lobby days this week:
- Over 200 Catholics from around the state gather for Catholic Advocacy Day today, February 9th. Sponsored by the Catholic Conference.
- On Friday, February 12th, housing advocates join together for Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day. Organized by LPPO partner the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, the day will emphasizes key housing issues such as supporting funding for the state’s Housing Trust Fund.
- LPPO plays a important organizing role for African American Legislative Day sponsored by the Washington State Commission on African American Affairs and held on Friday, February 12th. LPPO arranged meetings for the group with key state agency representatives as well as legislative meetings for the Washington Christian Leaders Coalition (African American clergy and church advocates).
InterFaith Advocacy Day
A reminder to register for InterFaith Advocacy Day. Come join LPPO and our interfaith and ecumenical partners on Tuesday, February 16th, for a day to “Lift Every Voice” at the state capital in Olympia. The day begins at United Churches, across the street from the Capitol, where we will worship, hear from experts on the current state of the budget and policy legislation, and receive instruction on how to be successful advocates. At noon the group moves to the legislative building to eat lunch and hear from leading legislators and, for the first time at Faith Advocacy Day, Governor Chris Gregoire. The afternoon also features appointments for attendees to meet with their individual state legislators. Bus transportation is available from Seattle and Tacoma and carpools are being organized from other areas.
Please register ASAP to reserve your preferred transportation option and lunch.
Register Now!
Week Four in Review
Week four of the legislative session saw the first round of deadlines in the legislative schedule. House policy bills had to be out of their committee by Tuesday the 2nd and Senate policy bills by Friday the 5th. As of last week the House had introduced 767 bills and the Senate 620.
Indicating the progression of the legislative session, week four also saw the House Ways and Means committee hold the first Saturday meeting of any committee.
LPPO now has a congregational advocate from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Olympia, Trevor Sandison, who will be helping with some of LPPO’s lobbying efforts in Olympia on a volunteer basis. Thank you, Trevor!
LPPO Visits Congregations
Is your congregation familiar with the connection between faith and advocacy? Would your congregation benefit from a briefing on the latest issues of peace and justice before our local, state, and federal governments? LPPO is available to preach and teach on Sundays at Lutheran and non-Lutheran congregations across the state. We are currently seeking dates in the months of February through May. Contact LPPO director Rev. Paul Benz at lppooffice@lcsnw.org for more details.
Advocates Conference Call
You are invited to join LPPO Director Rev. Paul Benz on a statewide advocates conference call–today, February 9th at 7:00PM.
We will discuss that latest news from the current Washington State legislative session including the bills and budget issues that most need the support of faithful advocates.
Please join us!
Email lppooffice@lcsnw.org or call 206-464-4133 to RSVP.
Call-In Information:
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
7:00pm
Dial-in Number: 1-219-509-8222
Access Code: 672524
The legislative session continues to speed along with the fourth week bringing the first legislative cutoffs, dates by which bills need to pass certain legislative hurdles on their way to passage. Tomorrow at 5 PM (Feb. 2nd), policy bills originating in the House need to be passed out of their committees in order to have a chance of passage. For bills originating in the Senate, the deadline to pass out of committee is this Friday at 5 PM. This week’s alert features two bills that need to survive these cutoffs–your timely response is crucial!
InterFaith Advocacy Day
A reminder to register for InterFaith Advocacy Day. Come join LPPO and our interfaith and ecumenical partners on Tuesday, February 16th, for a day to “Lift Every Voice” at the state capital in Olympia. The day begins at United Churches, across the street from the Capitol, where we will worship, hear from experts on the current state of the budget and policy legislation, and receive instruction on how to be successful advocates. At noon the group moves to the legislative building to eat lunch and hear from leading legislators and, for the first time at Faith Advocacy Day, Governor Chris Gregoire. The afternoon also features appointments for attendees to meet with their individual state legislators. Bus transportation is available from Seattle and Tacoma and carpools are being organized from other areas.
Please register ASAP to reserve reserve your preferred transportation option and lunch.
Register Now!
Ways to Communicate/Advocacy Tools
- Toll Free Legislative Hotline # 1-800-562-6000 Reach any of your legislators or the governor in one call!
- Via Email or Mail Know you 9 digit zip code? Head to www.lppowa.org or www.leg.wa.gov to find your representatives’ contact information.
- Latest Bill and Committee Information The state legislature’s website is an excellent resource for everything related to the legislative session.
Action Bills for Week Three
Food Policy Council Bill (HB 6343) LPPO along with other members of the Good Food Coalition are supporting this bill to help strengthen our state’s ag economy with better coordination. Our food system in Washington State is not working well and we need to do better. Food Policy Councils (FPCs) are being established at local & state levels throughout the country to address the food system challenges. Working across the different sectors of our food system, FPCs coordinate action among the many stakeholders that can expand production, consumption and access to Washington-grown foods. Multiple benefits can ensue, including job creation, keeping food dollars and tax revenue in-state, and improved health based upon improved access to healthy food. A Food Policy Council would also position Washington State to take advantage of new federal dollars that support improved nutrition and food system integration. For more information visit The Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network’s issue page.
Status and Action: The bill is currently in the Senate Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Committee. If your legislator serves on this committee (member list) please urge them to have committee chair Sen. Brian Hatfield bring the bill up for executive session and vote it out of committee.
Ban Unfair Insurance Practices (HB 2513/SB 6252) LPPO supports these bills which would eliminate the use of credit scoring to determine auto and property insurance premiums. Proposed by State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, these bills would eliminate a barrier to affordable insurance for all Washingtonians. For more information, visit the website of the Insurance Commissioner.
Status and Action: Both bills are scheduled for votes in their respective committees tomorrow, February 2nd. If one of your representatives serves on the Financial Institutions Committee in the House (member list) or if your senator serves on the Labor and Commerce Committee (member list), urge them to support this legislation ASAP!
Security Lifeline Bill – (HB2782) creates a online benefits portal system to reorganize the delivery of services to recipients of public assistance – particularly those on GA-U (General Assistance Unemployable) and renames GA-U to “Disability Lifeline Program”. The bill also takes a number of steps to improve human services in Washington including establishing a permanent housing pilot program and expanding the food stamp employment and training program in community colleges around the state.
Status and Action: Unlike the previous bills, the Security Lifeline Bill has been passed out the Health House Human Services Committee. Contact your representatives in the House and urge them to support the bill before the February 16th house of origin cutoff.
Week Three in Review
Week three of the legislative session featured two successful advocacy days sponsored by coalitions to which LPPO belongs.
- On Tuesday, January 26th the 25 organizations of the Envriomental Priorities Coalition and nearly 500 advocates descended on Olympia for Environmental Lobby Day. A coalition dedicated to advocating for the environment in Olympia, the coalition has a tremendous record of legislative success. This success continued this year with one of the coalition’s priorities, the Safe Baby Bottle Bill (HB 1180/SB 6248) already passing both the House and Senate. The coalition’s other priority, due to be introduced this week, is an increase of the hazardous substance tax from .7% to 2.5% which would raise $225 million in new revenues.
- On Friday, January 29th, the members of the Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition and 130 of their member advocates joined together in Olympia for Hunger Action Day. The day highlighted the issues facing hungry families in Washington and brought their stories before legislators in the position to take action to reduce hunger. LPPO’s partner, and last year’s recipient of LPPO’s Evergreen Justice Award, the Children’s Alliance, played a significant role in organizing the event.
LPPO traveled this past weekend to Spokane for the Eastern Washington Legislative Conference on Saturday, January 30th. Sponsored by LPPO, Washington Association of Churches, The Fig Tree, and Catholic Charities of Spokane, the event was an opportunity for nearly 40 people of faith in the greater Spokane area to learn how to engage in advocacy for “the least”. While in Spokane, LPPO Director Rev. Paul Benz also preached at The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Spokane Vally.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
7:00pm
Dial-in Number: 1-219-509-8222
Access Code: 672524
We’ll be discussing the upcoming WA State legislative session, share the LPPO’s legislative priorities, and discuss details on the 2010 Interfaith Advocacy Day (February 16 in Olympia).
Join Us to “Lift Every Voice” on Faith Advocacy Day
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
At the State Capitol in Olympia
Begin the day at United Churches in Olympia. Move to the State Capitol for lunch and legislative meetings. Meet your legislators and voice your concerns.
Registration materials will be available in December.
For more information, contact one of the primary sponsors: Washington Association of Churches (206) 625-9790,
the Lutheran Public Policy Office (206) 464-4133, or the Church Council of Greater Seattle (206) 525-1213